After 43 consecutive years in the National Football League — first as a Hall of Fame player and then as a Hall of Fame broadcaster — Dan Dierdorf has announced his retirement following this season.

Dierdorf, who is the longest-tenured NFL analyst on television and teams with Greg Gumbel on CBS' coverage, has spent the past 30 years as an NFL broadcaster. That followed the Glenwood High School graduate's 13-year playing career with the St. Louis Cardinals.

"I have been blessed to spend my entire life in the game I love," Dierdorf said in a statement released by CBS. "I had an opportunity to go from the field directly to the broadcast booth ,where I have had the privilege of working with the giants of our business, including Ray Scott, Lindsey Nelson, Jack Buck, Dick Stockton, Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Verne Lundquist, Dick Enberg and lastly, my partner, Greg Gumbel.

"It has become a challenge for me to travel to a different NFL city every week, so it's time to step aside. This has been a wonderful ride, as I really have lived the dream."

Dierdorf was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and was the 2008 recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award. The Rozelle Award is annually given by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of "long-time exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football."

Dierdorf joins Frank Gifford, John Madden and Len Dawson as the only members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to also have won the Rozelle Award.

"For 43 NFL seasons Dan Dierdorf has been a consummate professional both on the field and in the broadcast booth," said CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus in a statement released by the network. "Very few people in any profession can boast a Hall of Fame playing career and Hall of Fame broadcasting career."

Dierdorf first starred in football at Glenwood in the 1960s, helping the Eagles win the Federal League title as a senior in 1966. He also was a standout thrower on the track and field team. He held the county shot put record from 1967-2000. Dierdorf entered the Stark County High School Football Hall of Fame in its inaugural class in 2002.

Dierdorf went on to become a two-time All-Big Ten tackle at Michigan, where he was named to seven All-American teams as a senior and inducted into the school's hall of fame. Dierdorf was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000.

During a 13-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals (1971-83), Dierdorf was named All-Pro six times, selected as the NFL's top offensive lineman three times and voted to the NFL Team of the Decade for the 1970s.

He began his NFL broadcasting career in 1984 as a color analyst for KMOX's radio coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals and NFL games for CBS Radio Network. He was a play-by-play announcer for CBS in 1985 before switching to color analysis in 1986. In 1987 Dierdorf joined ABC's Monday Night Football for 12 years, before returning to CBS in 1999.

Page 2 of 2 - Gumbel said in statement Dierdorf has "a unique combination of knowledge and experience that few others can match."

"There has never been a day I've worked with Dan when I didn't learn something about the game of football. For that, and for so much more, I'm forever grateful. His departure is the fans' loss. Our loss. My loss. We will all miss Dan Dierdorf."